Recruitment scam suspect granted bail as victims protest in Kochi

Parvathy Maya Shaji, founder and chief executive of Kochi-based Amster Overseas, was granted bail on Monday in two cases linked to an alleged overseas recruitment scam. The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Ernakulam, granted bail in the cases registered by Palarivattom police. Shaji had recently been arrested and remanded in connection with allegations that applicants were cheated after paying money for jobs abroad.

The allegations concern complainants from Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts. Police said the cases involved promises of employment in Poland and Armenia and payments running into lakhs of rupees. The bail decision came as hundreds of people who said they had lost money gathered outside the company’s office in Edappally.

The protesters demanded that the amounts they had allegedly paid be returned quickly. Vishnu, the agency’s branch manager, told the media during the protest that the company intended to refund the affected people. Police sources said the firm had repaid money to about 100 people after Shaji’s arrest.

Palarivattom police said they would send a report to the Enforcement Directorate seeking further investigation into the money trail. The police will provide the agency with details of three cases registered against Shaji and others. A city police officer said the ED would be informed because the accused had received money in bank accounts abroad for services promised or delivered in India.

The supplied report does not state the conditions attached to Shaji’s bail or give details of any response from the Enforcement Directorate.